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The renaming of a few towns and airports in South Africa has been on the cards for a while now.
Last year, a plan was proposed by transport minister Fikile Mbalula during a written parliamentary Q&A, to rename some of the country’s airports, including East London Airport, Port Elizabeth International Airport, and Kimberley Airport.
A number of towns, including East London, King William’s Town, and Berlin were also in line for a name change.
That proposal was open for public comment and it looks like some of the changes outlined in the plan have gone through.
The new airport names include:
- The Port Elizabeth International Airport will change to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport
- East London Airport will change to King Phalo Airport
A few towns have been renamed as well:
- Uitenhage will be changed to Kariega
- Berlin will be changed to Ntabozuko
- MaClear Town will change to Nqanqarhu
- King Williams Town will change to Qonce
- Port Elizabeth will be changed to Gqeberha
Port Elizabeth’s new name seems to be causing a few folks to panic when it comes to pronunciation.
@motsepe_rems on Twitter is here to help you out:
@FaithMangope @imanrappetti the proper pronunciation of Gqeberha #powerbreakfast pic.twitter.com/plInCvd1wY
— -.-̶̯͡»̶̥·̵̭̌✽ The Wolf of BellPepper Str (@motsepe_rems) February 24, 2021
Let’s break it down:
It’s ‘Gqe’ (tongue click), ‘be’ (like bare), gha (similar to the ‘G’ in Afrikaans + a short ‘ah’).
So, ‘click’-bare-gha.
You’ve got this.
If you’re wondering where the name comes from, TimesLIVE has the deets.
The people who nominated the renaming were Boy Lamani of KwaMagxaki, former ANC MPL Khoi and San activist Christian Martin, and Khoi and San chief Mervyn Allies.
Gqeberha is the isiXhosa name for Walmer Township, which is one of the first and oldest Port Elizabeth townships.
Other names proposed back in 2018 included I-Bhayi, and Nelson Mandela City, which would have been confusing seeing as we already have Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape.
AfriForum did their best to try and stop the name change, via an online petition, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
And thus, the Windy City is now Gqeberha.
[source:timeslive]
